In general, meat products like beef are subjected to an aging process before consumption, in order to reduce entrained moisture and concentrate the natural flavors while tenderizing the meat texture. This aging process can be done in different ways and the predominantly used techniques are dry and wet aging processes.
Conventionally, wet aging is a less time consuming process that uses vacuum-sealed bag to control or regulate the moisture loss as well as limit exposure to oxygen for the meat product to age which accounts for the tenderness and flavor of the meat product. However the wet aging process lacks the desired depth of flavor. On the other hand, dry aging is time consuming process wherein the primal cuts of meat are maintained in a desired cooling temperature for a long period of time in combination with air movement or convection. As the time goes, the dry aged meat product loses water weight in the form of evaporation thereby dehydrating the product itself and concentrating the product to change its texture and flavor. The connective tissue of the meat product in this process undergoes chemical decomposition to improve the tenderization of the meat texture. The process is quite expensive as it may need a temperature-controlled cooler set aside for only dry aging. Dry aging can be done in different ways such as dedicated refrigerator or electric coolers, dry bags and so on.
The electric coolers used for commercially dry aging are generally large and very expensive and not designed for home use. The other method used to dry the meat products at home may require a refrigerator, cooler fan and a rack for holding the meat. This takes so much of time as the fan may not provide proper convection and position of the meat product inside the rack may not help in proper dehydration of the product thereby resulting in reduced aged flavor and tenderization. The meat product is also left exposed to all the other items contained in the refrigerator, which presents a higher chance for contamination.
Most of the current techniques depend on a dedicated refrigeration system with necessary components to support the dry aging process. However the space needed for the system is more and also it is very expensive and they are designed to hold large quantities of beef for dry aging, which the average consumer does not need. All the dedicated refrigerators are designed for commercial applications. Also there is no portable and convenient device for carrying out the dry aging process in a microenvironment.
Products and processes for drying normal food products like as disclosed in US20150342204 also has proven out to be ineffective because of the unique nature of steak's level of moisture. Most of the processes in the prior art rely upon electromagnetic radiation or natural substances like salt (as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,517). While excessive exposure to acute radiation can potentially make the steak dangerous for consumption, usage of rock salt can cause steak to change its natural taste and thus desired outcome is not achieved.
In light of the aforementioned drawbacks and limitations, there exists a need for a portable device which will create a microenvironment that can go inside a regular, undedicated refrigerator which can dry age the meat products to the desired texture, flavor and tenderness of the product and allow for longer aging periods while maximizing flavor.